IMC 2020: Sessions

Session 205: Crusades and Nature, I

Monday 6 July 2020, 14.15-15.45

Organisers:	Jessalynn Bird, Independent Scholar, Chicago Elizabeth Lapina, Department of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Moderator/Chair:	Jessalynn Bird, Independent Scholar, Chicago
Paper 205-a	The Wonders of Nature: The Portrayal of Animals and Nature in Poetic Descriptions of the First Crusade (Language: English) Linda Paterson, Department of French Studies, University of Warwick Carol Elizabeth Sweetenham, School of Modern Languages & Cultures, University of Warwick / Royal Holloway, University of London Index terms: Crusades, Language and Literature - French or Occitan
Paper 205-b	Streaming Stars and Roads of Fire: Nature as Prodigy and Threat in the Hystoria de via (Language: English) Francesca Petrizzo, School of History, University of Leeds Index terms: Crusades, Historiography - Medieval
Paper 205-c	Growing, Growing, Gone: Reconstructing Agricultural Cultivation Areas in the Kingdom of Jerusalem (Language: English) Heather Elizabeth Crowley, School of History, Archaeology & Religion, Cardiff University Index terms: Crusades, Economics - Rural
Abstract	An understanding of Anthropocene - the history of human interactions with natural environment - has never been more pressing than today. The session will explore the intersection of crusader studies and environmental studies. It will address encounters with, responses to, and representations of a broad variety of natural phenomena (broadly defined) having to do with crusades and the Latin States. The topics include portents and marvels; encounters with familiar and unfamiliar fauna, flora, and natural phenomena; and cultivation, consumption, and trade in crops, fruit, spices, etc. The session will serve as a springboard for an edited collection of articles.